China

Philippines

Cyber

Military & Security

Politics

The Philippine government announced that a "foreign actor" created a recently circulated manipulated video, or deepfake, that showed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directing military action against China, Bloomberg reported on April 26.

Philippines: Deepfake of President Stirs Tensions With China

United States

Taiwan

Russia

Economics

U.S.-China Relations

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, Reuters reported on April 26. 

China, U.S.: Blinken Meets With President Xi and Minister(s) Wang

Europe

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The European Parliament approved the Net-Zero Industry Act, or NZIA, the bloc's plan to strengthen its green manufacturing ecosystem and bolster its production of the technologies needed for the energy transition, a press release from the European Parliament showed on April 25.

EU: European Parliament Approves Plan To Boost Green Tech Manufacturing

The Standing Committee of China's 14th National People's Congress voted to adopt the Tariff Law, which will go into effect on Dec. 1, Xinhua News Agency reported on April 26.

China: Tariff Law Formalizes More Economic Warfare Options

Iran

Israel

Ukraine

U.S.-Iran Relations

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel that passed through the Senate in a 79-18 vote with allocations to replenish Israel's missile defense systems and augment humanitarian support to Gaza, The New York Times reported on April 24.

U.S.: Washington Approves Aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Expands Sanctions on Iran

The U.S. Senate passed a bill by a vote of 79-18 that includes a divest-or-ban mandate for the short-form U.S. video app TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, The New York Times reported on April 23.

U.S., China: Senate Passes TikTok Divest-or-Ban Mandate

Germany

German European Parliament lawmaker Maximilian Krah said he will remain the lead candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party in the June European Parliament elections even though one of his aides was arrested for Chinese espionage, DW reported on April 24.

Germany: Another Scandal May Hurt Far-Right AfD in Upcoming EU Elections

EU officials raided the offices of Chinese security equipment supplier Nuctech in Poland and the Netherlands at the European Commission's request as part of an anti-foreign subsidy investigation the European Union is launching against the company, the Financial Times reported on April 24.

EU, China: EU Raids Offices of Chinese Company, Launches Probe Into Chinese Procurements

Assessments

An aerial view shows residential buildings under construction by Chinese real estate developer Vanke in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, on March 15, 2024. 

Without productivity-enhancing economic reform, China's economic growth will likely continue to slow amid insufficient demand and continued over-investment.

Gauging the Risk of a Systemic Financial Crisis in China

Ecuador

A banner depicts IRGC missile models aimed at Israel on April 16 in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The ongoing confrontation may be entering a de-escalation phase after the April 19 Israeli counterstrike to Iran's April 13 salvo against Israel.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Israel-Iran Conflict, Ecuador's Constitutional Referendum

Japan

South Korea

U.S. President Joe Biden (right) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands following a joint press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 10, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 

Greater U.S.-Japan defense cooperation will exacerbate China's sense of entrapment, furthering Beijing's partnerships with authoritarian regimes and its long-term preparations for a Taiwan conflict.

Japan-U.S. Relationship Serves as a Model for Indo-Pacific Security, a Bad Omen for China

Brazil

Colombia

Palestinian Territories

India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) April 12 in Dausa, India.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Indian Elections, Scholz Goes to China

Australia

France

United Kingdom

Chinese car manufacturer BYD's stacked electric vehicles wait to be loaded onto a ship at the international container terminal of Taicang Port at Suzhou Port in China's eastern Jiangsu province on Sept. 11, 2023.

As Chinese electric vehicles threaten to flood Western markets, Washington and Brussels prepare restrictions to protect domestic manufacturers and secure sensitive data. 

Chinese Electric Vehicles Prepare to Hit the Great Wall of Western Tariffs

South Africa

Turkey

Indonesia

An APK rally March 29, 2024, in Istanbul. Nationwide municipal elections occur March 31, in which the ruling AKP will likely try to regain the mayoralties of large cities including Ankara and Istanbul.

The Weekly Rundown: Turkish Municipal Elections, Blinken Goes to Europe

Senegal

Haiti

Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 11, 2024, in Beijing.

The Weekly Rundown: Senegalese Presidential Elections, Xi Meets With U.S. CEOs

Venezuela

Egypt

New Zealand

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 14, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Dueling U.S. and Chinese Diplomacy, a European Council Summit

Snapshots

Hong Kong SAR, China

Police officers set up a cordon as they disperse the public out of Victoria Park ahead of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident on June 3, 2022, in Hong Kong, China.

The local national security law will pose legal and compliance risks to businesses in Hong Kong, and further impede China's efforts to curb the erosion of economic ties with the West.

Hong Kong's New Law Ushers In a China-Style National Security Environment

Bangladesh

A digital illustration of the Bangladeshi flag.

After weeks of election-related unrest, the situation in Bangladesh has stabilized, which will free the government to focus on securing investment and infrastructure deals with the U.S., India, Japan and China.

As the Dust Settles at Home, Bangladesh Turns Its Attention to Foreign Policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping looks on during a ceremony to mark China's tenth Martyrs' Day at Tiananmen Square on Sept. 30, 2023, in Beijing, China. 

This report suggests Beijing will resist major economic stimulus and focus on risk mitigation in all areas of governance, while obscuring information flows about an increasingly insular China.

China Sees Risk Everywhere in Its 2024 Work Report

Vietnam

Pakistan

Chinese officials at the Fifth Plenary Session of the National People's Congress on March 12, 2023 in Beijing. Beijing will host the annual Two Sessions meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an industry and societal consultative body, and the rubberstamp National People's Congress from March 4-11.

The Weekly Rundown: Pakistan Selects a New Premier, China's Two Sessions

<p>China is situated on the eastern third of the Eurasian landmass, between Russia, mainland Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Its more than 9,000 mile-long coastline abuts the Yellow, East and South China Seas. China is a country of deep geographic divisions. Most fundamental is the split between its fertile eastern lowlands and the arid, sparsely populated highlands that enclose the lowlands like a shell. More than a billion people live in the ethnic Han Chinese core, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Traditionally, threats to China&#39;s Han core originated in the borderlands. To guard against overland invasion, successive Chinese rulers have sought to push the Core&#39;s borders outward &mdash;integrating these highlands as strategic &quot;buffer&quot; zones. These zones form a shield, protecting and containing the core. To be secure, China must control the buffer regions. But maintaining control of the regions, in turn, requires a strong and united core. And that means overcoming immense internal divisions &mdash; not only between northern and southern regions orbiting the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, but also between smaller regional units, each with their own geography, history, dialect and interests. Chinese history is defined by cycles of unity and fragmentation, from periods when a strong Han core captures and holds the surrounding buffers to those when a weak core breaks into its constituent parts, loses internal coherence and cedes control of the borderlands. This pattern, rooted in China&#39;s geography, has played out with remarkable consistency. By comparison, China&#39;s maritime interests have remained mostly limited to coastal waters. Today, however, growing international trade and rising Chinese reliance on overseas resources threaten to alter the pattern, adding a new maritime dimension to the struggle for buffer space &mdash; and potentially upending the long-standing dynamics of China&#39;s geographic challenge.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

Philippines: Deepfake of President Stirs Tensions With China

China, U.S.: Blinken Meets With President Xi and Minister(s) Wang

EU: European Parliament Approves Plan To Boost Green Tech Manufacturing

China: Tariff Law Formalizes More Economic Warfare Options

U.S.: Washington Approves Aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Expands Sanctions on Iran

U.S., China: Senate Passes TikTok Divest-or-Ban Mandate

Germany: Another Scandal May Hurt Far-Right AfD in Upcoming EU Elections

EU, China: EU Raids Offices of Chinese Company, Launches Probe Into Chinese Procurements

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